5 winners and 3 losers from the Packers’ impactful win over the Dallas Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football”
Green Bay had standout performances on both sides of the ball against Dallas, while some players had moments the team can’t afford to repeat.
The Green Bay Packers’ “Sunday Night Football” 23-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys produced plenty of winners and losers, but it was an important step for the Packers improving to 4-2 in the season.
Quarterback Jordan Love delivered one of the best opening drives in the NFL in years, and the defense kept making plays against a talented offense, despite several questionable calls. However, a familiar issue at wide receiver kept the Packers from having a much calmer game. Here are the biggest winners and losers from Green Bay’s performance against Dallas.
Winners
QB Jordan Love
Love threw for 109 yards on the opening drive alone. That’s the most passing yards by any player on a single offensive drive in at least five seasons, per ESPN. The rest of his night was just as impressive, even though his final numbers don’t fully show it.
And that’s because his receivers dropped three touchdown passes, plus several other catchable balls throughout the game. The offensive line didn’t help much either, especially on the interior. Nonetheless, Love put the Packers in position to compete against the Cowboys.
S Evan Williams
The safety added another strong performance to his season. Williams had an interception, generated pressure as a blitzer, and was consistently good in coverage, allowing a 56.3 passer rating when targeted. He has played at an All-Pro pace this season, or at least at a Pro Bowl level. It’s impressive how impactful the defensive back has been for Green Bay.
WR Savion Williams
Williams makes this list because of his role more than his numbers. It was his first game back from injury and his first game of the season, and Green Bay put him to work right away, with four receptions. He lined up as a slot receiver and as a gadget player, drawing three targets on the first drive alone. Williams showed he can be a viable weapon in this offense beyond Christian Watson and Matthew Golden at wide receiver.
EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton
The rookie had a questionable taunting penalty called against him. But other than that, he had a really impressive game. DDS was certainly the most effective edge rusher on the team, generating three pressures on Dak Prescott. For a rookie fourth-round pick, the production the Packers have gotten out of Dennis-Sutton is fantastic.
DC Jonathan Gannon
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon earns a spot here, and his success is closely tied to how he uses Evan Williams, but his defensive play-design in general. The interception came from a well-designed call. Williams lined up near the line of scrimmage, potentially showing a blitz, then dropped into deep coverage and picked off the pass.
Gannon later dialed up a pressure on third down, showing six rushers before dropping one into coverage. Williams came through and generated pressure. Those were several smart calls that helped the Packers against a dangerous Dallas’ offense.
Losers
Offensive players’ hands
The biggest loser of the game was the receivers’ ability to catch the football. Golden dropped two touchdown passes, and Watson dropped another one. Running back Pierre Strong had his too.
Both are obviously talented players and still produced, Golden in particular. They created separation and gave Love chances to make plays. But they failed to finish catches in several important moments, and it had a clear impact on how the game went. The Packers could have had a much more comfortable night with cleaner hands on the outside.
RB Marshawn Lloyd
Lloyd had a respectable game against the Chicago Bears, scoring two touchdowns. Against the Cowboys, however, he returned to how he has played for most of the season.
He averaged -0.7 yards per carry in the first half. At this point, he’s unplayable. The Packers prioritized Pierre Strong for most of the game, and rightfully so. Even in the Chicago game, the efficiency wasn’t there, and it certainly wasn’t there against Dallas. With Josh Jacobs returning next week, Green Bay won’t need to lean on Lloyd much anymore.
RG Travis Glover
If the Packers were waiting for Glover to have a bad sequence to play Kevin Zeitler, it’s probably time to do it. The starting right guard has certainly been an improvement over Jacob Monk, but he hasn’t been good enough to justify keeping Zeitler on the bench.
Glover allowed three pressures against the Cowboys, and five over the past two weeks. The interior suffered to stop Dallas’ defensive front, with Glover and Rhyan struggling. Next week, against the Detroit Lions, getting Zeitler in the lineup would make perfect sense.
